Closer Still To You
by Aria Elessar
Summary: They're torn apart by something no one can control, no one can detect it except the three aliens. It's strong enough to make Trevor come back to help. Everyone has to find this shadow in the dark, and destroy it, or be destroyed....
1. Prologue

A/N: Hiya Roswellian fans! Okay, okay, this will be the fourth story on the Roswell section, so I think I'm going to make from the book series, NOT the television series. Please forgive me, I've never seen anything from the third season. If I'm informed correctly, Liz and Max (as predicted) get married. As well as Isabel and what-his-face, Jesse Remirez. But that doesn't matter. However, when I describe the characters, I will be going mostly by what they look like in the series on television, mostly because I can picture them better that way. So instead of a blonde Max with blue eyes, he has dark brown hair and eyes. Alex has black hair, Maria still has curls, but Michael will be described a s he is in the books, as he I think he looks hotter that way. Liz will be Ortecho, not Parker, and Alex is a Manes, not a Whitman. Just for future reference, different pieces of time or a change of place are separated by a line of x's. Here we go!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any characters from Roswell, the t.v. show, or the books. Please don't sue me, pretty please.

Prologue

_"Isabel, I... I'll come back. I don't know how long it will take, but I promise I will." Trevor smiled, then let go of his strap that kept him from being sucked into the wormhole._

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_"I love you, Maria." Michael watched as silver sparkles in her beautiful blue aura glittered like the stars._

_"I love you, too."_

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_"I'm never going to let anything come between us again. Never," Max murmured against Liz's lips, not wanting to lift his completely away from hers._

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_A shimmering rainbow of color appeared around the six of them, the strands of jade green, warm amber, screaming orange, rich purple, bright blue, and brick red binding them together. _

"_Remember?" Liz asked, looking each of them in the eye. Everyone smiled, clearly thinking about that first time they'd all connected, back when they'd needed to prove they could trust each other. It seemed so long ago but it was the clearest memory in Max's mind. He pulled Liz and Isabel a little bit closer and sighed with content,_

"_How could any of us forget?"_


	2. Just This Dance With You

A/N: Here's the next chapter. The good stuff now.

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own any of the characters in this story or (so far) any of the locations. I wish I did, but I don't. Then Max would be ALL MINE! Bwahahahahahaha!

Chapter 1: Just This Dance With You

Liz Ortecho waited on the last table at the Crashdown Cafe for the night. A stupid, guffawing, football player from school, and his cronies. One of them tried to give her a tip... by trying to slip it up under her Men in Black skirt. He was stopped by an abrupt overfoaming of his Cherry Coke, which spurted in his face and over his shirt. Liz smiled at a dark-haired, absolutely gorgeous guy who sat at table across the restaurant.

Max Evans, her boyfriend, was the reason she was still alive, and was a survivor of the 1947 crash. About a year ago, he had used his alien power to heal a bullet wound in her stomach. Risking his life for hers, putting himself in danger of being discovered. He and his sister Isabel had shared a pod, and were twins, as alike as night and day. Michael Guerin, the recent boyfriend of Liz's best friend, had also survived the crash. He had a brother back on their home at the time- Trevor, whom had just left via wormhole to their planet. Isabel and Trevor had been just about to get serious, when he left, to help restore order on their planet. When Alex had come back through the wormhole, he had become extremely good-looking, and had become the most sought-afer guy at Roswell High.

Maria Deluca had loved Michael for what seemed like forever, and he had broken her heart a couple of times. When he was faced with the choice of going back to his home planet or staying on Earth, it was his realization that he loved Maria that kept him back. Now he and Maria were inseparable, going everywhere and doing everything together.

Liz went to the back, where Michael and Maria were talking, as Michael flipped burgers. She dropped off her orders, then went over to Max in his booth.

"Thanks. You're such a life saver." She dropped into the seat next to him, and he slid his arm into the curve of her waist.

"And I used to wonder why you were so on your guard around guys. Do you think it was too much? I didn't want it to seem like I had used any power, so I didn't hurt him," he teased. Liz laughed the light happy laugh that had been out of use for so long. Ever since they all helped shatter the conciousness, that laugh had been heard more and more often.

"I would've preferred it if you had made it come out his nose, it would've been more humiliating," she said, making Max grin playfully.

"Order's up!" Michael called.

"Be right back," Liz said, and stood up to get her order. Max leaned back in his seat, watching her as she gracefully balanced her tray on one hand, with a practiced gesture, and brought it to the jock's table. This was one of his favorite pasttimes, just watching Liz. To him, she was absolutely perfect. Even in the old goofy uniforms the Crashdown used to have, she looked beautiful to him. Michael and Maria began cleaning up the kitchen, and Liz started wiping down the tables. After they finished, and the customer's left, Alex and Isabel pushed open the doors.

"Sorry, we're closed!" Maria said with mock authority.

"This is a stickup! I'm taking all the ladies! You! Get over here!" Alex joked, pointing at Michael.

"Well, call me a freak, but I think that lady is quite attractive!" Maria retorted. Then she started giggling as she realized what she had said. Liz put in a CD, and began to dance in rythm with the music.

_Oh yeah, _Max thought, _bring it to me. _He especially loved watching Liz dance. What guy wouldn't?

Michael went over to Maria, who had stopped giggling, and pulled her to the middle of the Crashdown floor, saying,

"I'm glad that even though I'm a chick, you still think I'm cute," he smiled sexily at Maria, glad he was here for this. They started dancing together, silly at first, but gradually began to show off what they could do.

Alex grinned goofily as he remembered the night he and Isabel had danced at a party, her trying to make every guy wish he was Alex. He got up and offered his hand to her in a overdone act of being a gentleman.

"May I have this dance, milady?" he sniffed with a British accent. Isabel laughed, and replied without missing a beat,

"Only if you drop the English gentlemen act." Alex was glad to oblige. They were just friends, but loved each other as family now. He knew it was tough for her to have lost Trevor, but he didn't feel jealous anymore.

Isabel still felt the dull throb in her heart from her loss of Trevor, but he said he'd come back, and she believed him. She started to dance to the beat, and smiled as she remembered the night she and Trevor went to UFOnics while Max was still trapped in the conciousness. Now wasn't a time to be sad, she should just relax and enjoy the fully there bunch of her friends. They were more like family to her. Maria and Liz were her fristers, friend-sisters, and Michael and Alex her brothends, brother-friends. Isabel looked around and sighed, thinking,

_It doesn't get much better than this._

Liz made her way over to Max, smiling as she noticed his eyes traveling slowly up her body, watching her dance. She reached him, and he stood up, grinning sheepishly when he noticed her noticing him. Liz laughed, and grabbed his hand, pulling him closer. She brought her lips close to his, just brushing against them, teasing him, and pulled away. He shook his head, brought his mouth next to her ear, whispering,

"That is so not fair." Then they danced together with everyone else. They slowed down after about half an hour, coming to a slow song. Max drew Liz to him, slowly moving and circling around her.

Across the floor, Michael and Maria were too engrossed in each other to notice anyone else. Maria put her head on Michael's shoulder, their forms were so close, you couldn't fit a finger between them. She pressed her raspberry colored lips to his neck, awed that she could finally do that without fear of rejection. It seemed it had been so long since she had been this close to him. Michael silently slipped his hand to her neck, and looked at her seriously, his gray eyes smoldering, his fingers entwining in Maria's long curly hair. Then his lips were against her's, hot and eager. He brushed her lips with his tongue, and they deepened their kiss. It felt so right to be here, without any worries. It felt Michael had yet to tell Maria how he had been going nuts over the past month, trying to prepare her for his leaving or trying not to break her heart again, thinking she hated him for the first two times. She had been going just as crazy, trying to act like he was just a friend to her, but he was more of an obsession.

Isabel was leaned against Alex's shoulder, taking the warmth from his shoulder as a comfort. Even now, it was a little awkward for them to be so close, but she was going to rebuild their relationship even if it killed her. He squeezed her in a little hug, though, as if knowing what she was thinking. She was thankful he had forgiven her, for the crappy way she had treated him before. Taking him for granted. But it was okay now.

Max smiled against Liz's lips, enjoying being able to taste them without the intrusion of the conciousness. He ran his hand through her hair, feeling it's silkiness. Liz leaned her head against his chest, and Max rested his cheek on the top of her head.

The six people, who were closer than could be, danced to the music of the night, just being with each other. There was nothing they'd rather be doing.

They were completely unaware of the person who looked inside the window of the Crashdown, taking in what they could, seeming to be just a shadow, then slipping away into the night before they were discovered.


	3. For You My Soul

A/N: Hmmm... I love chapters like that last one. By the way, whether you review or not, I'm going to update, but reviews help me to update a little faster. I have another story I'm working on in the Peter Pan section that has over 120 reviews at the moment, so this story isn't really first priority... unless you make it. This chapter is a little sappy, but it's cute. So please, R&R! Thanks to StarWonder09! My first reviewer!

Okay on my other story I like to dedicate my chapters to reviewers, so I'm going to do that here too. This chapter is dedicated to StarWonder09. Thanks for reviewing so quick!

Disclaimer: Yeah, you now how it goes, I do not own any of the Roswell characters, blah, blah, blah, blah...

Chapter 2: For You My Soul

Max woke up in Michael's apartment above the museum, they had all slept there that night. He felt an unfamiliar warmth across his chest, and looked down to find Liz in one of his t-shirts as a nightgown, sprawled out next to him, her torso over his chest. He smiled, she looked so gorgeous sleeping. Suddenly she stirred, as if sensing someone watching her. She looked up blearily, then smiled when she saw Max, finally putting her head backdown. It was about two o'clock in the morning, and Max wasn't tired, he had gotten his two hours of sleep.

He looked around to see if Michael and Isabel were up. Isabel was fast asleep for probaby another hour. Michael was awake. Wide awake, but not exactly aware of his surroundings. He and Maria were so wrapped up in each other, it was hard to tell which body was whose. Turning away, he heard Maria say with a groan,

"Not here..." Then complete silence.

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Maria felt the now familiar sensation of her molecules being teleported by Michael.

_Where are we going? _she wondered. They rematerialized in Michael's bedroom, on the bed exactly.

_Hoo boy, _was her next thought. They weren't laying down though, when they reached their full molecular capacity. They were sitting up, facing each other. Michael looked at her with all the saddness of the world in his eyes. The two stared into each other's eyes for a moment, then Michael spoke,

"I need to talk to you about everything that's happened between us. You have the right to know what was going on inside my head. Then I'm going to do for you what Max did for Liz. I'm going to connect with you, make our connection stronger." He took a deep breath.

"After I found out that Cameron betrayed us, at first I felt like it was the end of the world, that I'd never be able to trust anyone again. Isabel was still on that kick where she thought she and I were meant to be together, because she could feel my emotions best. It was only because of the conciousness dulling me from Max's sense, and because he and Liz were going out then. The only reason the rest of you couldn't feel me was because you're, well, human. And then while Dupris took over her, she tried to kiss me," Maria winced painfully at the thought, "but I could feel that there wasn't any chemistry, and I got that kissing-your-little-sister feeling. Then Dupris used her to knock me out cold. Afer Cameron left, I started noticing little things about you. Like, remember the time we baby-sat together at my foster parents house? After you gave the baby a bath, your t-shirt was just a little wet, but I started thinking along those lines of, sexy-Maria, instead of my predicted little-sister-Maria! I gave you my sweatshirt so I would stop. Then when we danced together, showing the little foster brother how to dance, I did it again, feeling like it could be something more. Nobody was out there, on this planet or another, that was like you. Then later, I felt like I had broken your heart one to many times for you to ever love me again. When Trevor got back, I was going completely crazy for you, yet I couldn't shae the feeling that you hated me for all I had done to you. At that party that Trevor came to? My eyes I swear were red with jealousy when you were flirting with Trevor. But I kind of picked up on the fat-free cookie hint. So, when we did the alien-bop. I put him in the back so he woudn't touch you.

"When Trevor asked me to help him shatter the conciousness and go bac with him, you were the first person who came to mind. So I told myself I was going to kind of wean you off, just so you wouldn't go into like, Michael withdrawal or something like that. It didn't work. I didn't come back for my car for a while when you drove it back, because the first time I came back for it, you were sleeping in it. I came that close to kissing you and just running my fingers over your shoulders, to wake you up. I was afraid that if I came back again, you would be there. And that day when I picked up my car from school, you ran your fingers across my knuckles, and I nearly ran us off the road! After you found out I was possibly leaving, the cold way you turned on me was almost unbearable. I was going completely insane, though. The thing that kept me back from going with Trevor was you.

"I realized just when I was about to let go, that I couldn't leave you. You had set down my roots. All I wanted was to be with you, Maria. I love you, so much, you wouldn't even be able to imagine it." He leaned forward and gently kissed her parted lips.

Maria turned around, scooted between his staddled legs, and put her head on Michael's chest, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Michael had loved her before! She thought he had pretty much just wanted her as a friend in his tough times.

_How is she taking this? _Michael wondered. He did a quick aura check, and was relieved to find those beautiful silver stars sparkling with joy, and a lot of relief showing up. His breath came out in a whoosh of air. Maria whispered,

"I've always loved you. Even after Cameron, even after Isabel, even when Trevor came, I loved you. I ept thinking to myself, "He doesn't need one more person's feelings on his mind. He doesn't want me like that." But I guess I was wrong. I was going nut's too, thinking about you at all. I wanted to be able to do what I'm doing now so badly. I cant believe that you wanted to be with me too. But ya now what? That night at the party, I was trying to make you jealous when I was talking with Trevor. Mostly because he looked a lot like you, but I could tell that he jst wasn't you. Michael or Trevor, I would've taken Michael any day." She also breathed asigh of relief, knowing she had gotten all that out.

Michael took her hand and made the connection. A stream of images came from Maria.

_Maria crying after watching Starman._

_Maria watching Michael walk out her window, dumbfounded. _

_Maria watching Michael's feet fly out from underneath him as he got sucked to the wormhole._

_Maria's hurt swirling in her aura as he prepared to leave. _

_Her joy last night dancing at the Crashdown. _

Then he was in. He could feel her body, their body's every heartbeat. Michael explored their mind a little, selecting one image that he would make last.

_"I love you, Maria." _And whenever she thought of him, that memory could burn clear, even in old age. It would never get fuzzy. If she chose to keep it, that's where it would be. And then, Michael pulled out, still holding her hand.

"Wow. That felt so awesome. I'll remember that forever?" Michael nodded. Michael turned her around and pressed his lips to her neck. Maria gasped softly then, as he pulled her down on top of him.

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Alex woke in the morning to a groan across the hall. He got up and went into Michael's room, unsurprised to see Maria there, too, but surprised to see them both still in their pajamas, bottoms and all. Well, Michael didn't have his shirt on, but that didn't count.

"I thought you two would've gone at it by now," he bluntly stated.

"ALEX! GET OUT!" Michael roared. Alex ducked and grinned as a pillow came flying across the room at him.

"All right already! I'm out, I'm out!" He closed the door behind him, then went downstairs to get breakfast. A shadow passed across his face as he stepped out into the room. He looked up, alarmed. But no one was there. Alex sat down at the counter warily, looking around. Time had shown him not to ignore things like this. Not yet, because everyone was so happy, but later, he would tell the others.

Taking out the Cheerios, he walked carefully up he stairs, and then plopped down in a de-beaned beanbag chair. He looked around the room, watched Max and Liz rest for a minute, but his gaze rested on Isabel. She had her eyes closed, but he knew she wasn't asleep. Her two hours had passed long ago.

_There I go again. It's a dog. It's a carpet! No, it's a flattened person! It's Understanding Guy! _He really wasn't that jealous of Isabel and Trevor, but he was envious for himself over what he and Isabel had had. None of the girls who mooned over him now, were anyone he would want to get serious with. Sure, they were pretty, but that's pretty much all they were. He sat back thoughtfully, munching his Cheerios.

_I guess she's more of a sister-friend now._

Max stirred from his corner of the room. He immediately felt Liz on his chest, because he picked her up, gently, and put her back on the spot where he had been a moment ago. Looking around, he glanced at Alex and grinned guiltily. Alex gave him an annoying knowing look. Max returned it with a more-than-half-joking disgusted look.

"You know you liked it!" Alex said in a macho voice. "C'mon, you got babes hangin' from each arm!" Then he looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, I forgot, so do I!" Then Isabel was up.

"Just because you got a little worm-hole therapy, doesn't mean you need to brag in front of the nice steady guys! Max doesn't care, and you know it, don't you?" Alex rolled his eyes.

"What are you talking about? Every guy in the school envy's me! Including Max, and Michael!" Then he looked toward the door across the hall, from which another groan had issued from. "Well, maybe not so much Michael." Max gently shook Liz, then scooped her up, bridal style.

"Let's just go down and eat. Who wants to get Michael and Maria?" Alex immediately shot his hand in the air.

"Oooooooooooh! Ooh! Pick me! Pick me! Pleeeasse!" Max shook his head hopelessly and nodded. Alex ran across the hall and said in a dorky excited voice,

"Oh I've been waiting for this for so long!" He rapped on the door and shouted, "Maria! Michael! I'm giving you ten seconds to get dressed and then I'm coming in! One, two, thre-" and Michael swung the door open. He eyed Alex evilly and whispered dangerously,

"I'm going to give you ten seconds to run before you die a very painful death. One..." Alex was already running. "Two... ten!" He ran wildly after Alex, dive bombing him at the bottom of the stairs and pinning him to the floor. "Bwahahahaha! Vengeance is mine!" And he pretended to take a bite out of his shoulder. Very subtly, he felt a tickle up his spine that told him a surge of power had just been used. It wasn't of Isabel or Max. He abruptly got off of Alex and circumspected the room, totally alert. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. He looked up the stairs to see Max with Liz on his back, Isabel and Maria trailing behind. He asked them, "Did you feel that?" Max and Isabel nodded. Alex knew what he was talking about, and said,

"I saw a shadow passing over the room that didn't belong there earlier. I couldn't see what had caused it. Only another person in the room could've caused it. The shades are drawn." Max looked around, but couldn't see anything, either.

"It could've been something completely different. Like a car going by with it's lights on and shining over a person walking by. Think about all the possibilities."

_The logical way. That's Liz for you. _

"Mm-mm. I felt a tingle of power being used just a second ago. There aren't any other aliens on this planet, Liz. It wasn't Michael or Isabel. How the heck could that happen if there weren any other aliens on the planet? Trevor would make himself known. Someone is watching us. From our planet." Max was really nervous now. Anyone on their planet who didnt make themselves known, obviously didn't have good intentions.

"Maybe it was a being from the Kindred who was mad about us killing Dupris?" Maria interjected quietly.

"I don't thinkwe'll know until this thing makes itself known to us." Isabel stated. Everyone nodded, they knew she was right. "But everyone should keep on the alert."

"I have to get home. My finals and SATs are coming up. Gotta study. Wanna come with me Max?" Liz looked really tired.

"Better yet, why don't we go to my house, and study there?" Isabel gave Max a look, they both knew their parents were in their out-of-town office for the weekend. Max grinned. "Isabel won't mind staying here at Michael's place for a while, will she?" Isabel sighed in exasperatedly, then nodded.

"Well, I've got to study, and so does Michael, so we're going to my house. Too bad I'm a year younger than you guys. Then we could all study together." Michael put on a look of innocence and smiled. As the pair walked out hand in hand, Michael shot an evil grin over his shoulder.

"Well, I guess I'm left to either go home, or sit here and actually study with Isabel. Instead of making out!" Alex called after them.

Liz gathered up her things from upstairs, got dressed, and walked out the door with Max. She called her parents on her cell phone to tell them she'd be gone the rest of the day at Max's house.

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He he he he... Who is the shape in the shadows? What will happen next? Who knows? I do! Not telling, not telling! You'll have to read the next chapter! Gracias! R & R!


	4. Watched

A/N: Okay, not a huge response, but that's okey-day. Lots of fluff in this fanfic, I've discovered. Hmm hmm! That's okay, too!

This chapter is dedicated to my second reviewer. Thank you! I'll keep updating, and yes, there isn't nearly enough fanfics for the books.

Disclaimer: Don't own, so don't sue.

Chapter 3: Watched

Max laughed as Liz watched him out of the corner of her eye.

"What are you watching for?" he questioned.

"I'm making sure you don't try any manly advances." Liz replied seriously, but a twitch at the corner of her lip betrayed her. She had been hoping for some time alone with Max since they shattered the conciousness, but they'd always been with the rest of the gang. Technically, they were studying, but not their notes. Oh sure, they'd pretend to, but the focus was always on each other. Liz was studying the absolute perfection of Max's build, and his gorgeous face.What really captured her was his dark eyes, so amazingly soulful. It felt as though she could look right into his heart, know exactly what he was feeling.

"What?" Max asked, noticing her staring at him. Meanwhile, Max was very busy studying Liz's figure, and the way her dark hair fell around her shoulders. He loved the way her lips curved when she smiled, the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at him. The feel of her amber aura brushing against his jade green one. He wasn't even pretending to study.

"It's hard to study while having to keep an eye on you," she joked.

"Well then, let me help you." They were spread out on the floor, laying on their stomach's. Max slid over to Liz and put one arm over her back, moving until he was almost on her back. He put his head next to her ear and said huskily,

"Okay. The formula for formeldyhyde is..." Liz smiled at the use of their inside joke. Liz always had said that the smell of formeldyhyde had always turned her on, and that Max smelled like it. "...me and you. So if you were going to make formeldyhyde you would... what?"

In response Liz turned around so her back was on the floor. She wrapped an arm around his neck, the other around his waist, lips brushing against his softly. He closed the millimeter of distance between them, his body hot, mouth desperate. Liz parted her lips and Max was suddenly completely wrapped up in her, totally unaware of what was going on around him, besides her. All he wanted to be able do was get closer, and then even closer than that. His hand found the edge of her shirt, slid underneath it. Her smooth skin felt so good under his fingers.

Liz wrapped her leg around Max, still trying to get closer. As she felt his hand slowly slide up on her bare skin, she moaned with pleasure, and did the same. Her hand found Max's neck before his hand even found the small of her back. She paused for a moment, then used both hands to pull his shirt off. He rolled over, so she was laying on his chest. Max's muscular chest heaved deeply up and down, and she could feel his every move.

Max rolled over once again, pushing down on the floor with his elbow so he wouldn't come too hard down on Liz. Her trembling body, the hard breathing of his lungs, his tongue at the base of her neck, everything between the two of them and out was the only thing he could focus on. Max gently eased her tank top over her head, wanting to rip away anything that came in between them. As his fingers brushed the straps of her bra, Liz gasped and stopped abruptly.

"Max, stop. Look where we are." When he did, he finally realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt, she was just in her bra, and they were in the middle of the living room floor. Right in view of the front door. They were lucky they hadn't gone any further, and that no one had come in. He oddly didn't feel uncomfortable in any way, even though they had almost made love right there, and Liz's torso was covered only by her bra. Although he moved off of her, Liz didn't move for a moment, eyes closed. Then she grabbed her shirt off the floor next to her, putting it on slowly. He made no move to get his clothes off the floor. Liz put her arm around Max's waist, hooking her fingers through the belt loop in his jeans.

"That, Senorita, was extremely close. Remind me next time that we're in my house alone, and my parents are in Clovis, and Isabel promised that she'd stay away, and we're studying, that we should study in my bedroom." Liz smiled a little, glad that she had stopped them when she did.

"You may want to put your shirt on, because I think your parents are about to pull in the driveway." _Closer than we thought! _Liz ran her fingers through her hair, and bent over her still open chemistry book. Max sat next to her after hastily throwng on his shirt, and they sat for a moment, waiting. "I think the formula for formeldyhyde is actually... Oh hi, Mr. and Mrs. Evans!" Liz looked up at them smiling, as if nothing had been going on.

"Hello Liz! Haven't seen you around here in a while! Umm... we're going across the hall to the office, to finish up a case, if you guys need anything." Max smiled at his adoptive parents, glad they could take a hint so easily.

"Okay, we're just studying for SATs and finals, so we'll probably be here the rest of the night." As the Evans' walked into their office, Max earnestly glanced at Liz and asked, "Do you want to go up to my room, now?" Liz considered him for a moment, then replied,

"Sure." They climbed the stairs in silence, reflecting on their thoughts.

_What does he want to do up there? He's not stupid enough to try and go at it while his parents are home. Besides, he wouldn't if I didn't want to._ If someone were to ask Liz who she would trust with her life besides her parents, without skipping a beat she would say Max Evans. So why was she freaking out that they were going to his room?

Max was thinking more about what Liz was thinking about than what she thought he was thinking about. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, and he wasn't about to continue their little "make-out session" while his parents were in the house. They could always actually study.

_Hmm... maybe a little. _But it was obvious neither of them really wanted to do that.

The two of them reached the bedroom, and went in. Max dropped his books on the bed then followed his books likewise. Liz sat next to him, and they sat quietly for a minute. Then Liz started to laugh. Max watched her for a moment, then asked her why she was laughing. Liz gasped,

"We... almost...", she let another peal of laughter loose, "got... caught.. by your... parents." She didn't really know why that seemed funny to her, but it was. Max looked at her for another second, then checked her aura, realizing she was extremely nervous. He took her hand, and said soothingly,

"It's okay, you don't have to be nervous. We're just gonna sit here and talk." She stopped giggling.

"Max what would we have done if we hadn't been interupted?" He knew what she was talking about. He replied without delay,

"I would ask you to marry me immediately after we were done with high school. No joke." She looked at him seriously and relaxed.

"Let's see if we can actually get some actual studying done," she said cheerfully.

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Michael and Maria were actually studying for their tests, much to both their surprise. For the past hour, they had sat on Maria's bed, laughing, talking, and studying. Maria felt that this was really what a couple should be able to do. Making out was easy, with whoever, but a real relationship started with respect and comfort with each other. Not that she wouldn't have minded kissing Michael at all. Michael was busy at the moment, stuffing his face with the cookies they had just made. Maria was laughing so hard, she thought she might suffocate.

"You... look... like.. a monkey!" she said between bursts of oncoming laughter. Michael looked up at her indignantly, and she started laughing even harder, his likeness was exact to a monkey's. He stuff a cookie in her open mouth, and she opened her eyes wide with surprise. But she managed to munch it down and stop laughing. Michael gave her a very self-satisfied look and nodded primly.

"Okay, okay, we'll call a truce and get back to studying." Michael grinned at her and bent his head over his book for a moment. "Mmmm, what was the name of the last absolute monarch of England?" Maria gave him the anwer and they moved on. At about nine, they ate with Maria's little brother Kevin, and then went back and collapsed onto Maria's bed, brains and stomach's feeling full. Maria began to doze off, and she curled up to Michael's chest.

"Oh my gawd!" They awakened to Maria's mother standing in the doorway.

"Mom-" Maria began.

"Get out! NOW! OUT!" She had a seriously furious look on her face, but Michael was unfazed.

_Time to turn on some of the Michael charm._ He dropped to his knees at Amy DeLuca's feet, putting on his best innocent-little-boy look, and folded his hands in a look of pleading.

"Mrs. DeLuca, we just fell asleep! Pleeeease, I swear, we were just tired, and we sat down on the bed and just started dozing! I didn't mean anything by it!" Maria's mom stopped shouting, and gave him a hard look.

"Who are you, pray tell?"

"I'm Michael Guerin, your daughter's boyfriend and studdy buddy." Maria's mom didn't catch the pun, although Maria immediately had to cover a laugh with a coughing fit. "I live in the apartment above the UFO museum, and I'm in my last year at Roswell High. Maria and I have been friends for a really long time. Even Kevin knows me really well! We had just eaten with Kevin and felt full, so we just collapsed onto the bed, and I thought we were going to get back up and continue studying, but I guess we both fell asleep! Pleeeeeeeease, I'm a good guy!" He gave her his big baby eyes, and she started to laugh.

"Oh fine! But you should come over for dinner some time when I'm here! And you've got to be gone by 11! Okay?" Michael and Maria smiled. "You have school tomorrow, you know!"

"Thanks mom!" Maria felt extremely relieved that Michael had gotten off good with her mother. "How do you do that?" she exclaimed when he stood back up.

"Not telling!" he giggled evilly. Michael smiled. Maria smiled back and said,

"You know you're actually gonna have to come back and have dinner with my mom and I. How about tomorrow?" Michael shrugged saying,

"Sure, babe." Maria snorted at the word. "Well it's about ten, so I'm going to go home, okay?" He came over to Maria and gave her a quick kiss and hug. "See ya." He started for the window.

"Michael! You might want to use the door since my mom is home!" He turned around on a dime, and walked back towards her bedroom door.

"Right. I knew that. 'Bye." Maria heard her mom and Kevin tell Michael good-night, and a squeal from Kevin as he received a special Michael-noogie. Then the door closed as he left.

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Michael walked down the alley toward his apartment, feeling like a million bucks. He felt so lucky for having a girl like Maria. She was totally everything to him.

As he crossed the street a block from his house, he felt a tingling sensation up his back, like someone was watching him. Michael whipped around, looking for the perpatrator, but he saw no one. He kept walking, but quickened his pace. Again he felt that sensation on his back, and again didn't see anyone. Behind him as he looked for someone, he heard a soft swish of someone passing by quickly. Michael's body went on full-alert. He started jogging, wanting to get home ASAP, now wishing he had taken the car. Someone was following him, he could hear it. Boots behind him were clicking on the sidewalk. Quickly, Michael ducked behind a huge dumpster around a corner. The boot clicks continued toward him.

_Let's play a little ring-around-the-rosy. _As soon as he heard the boots pass him, he jumped out from behind the dumpster, but there was no one there.

_This is getting weirder and weirder._ Michael continued home, but the boots weren't heard again.

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Whaddya think? I'm planning to make this story about, maybe 15-20 chapters long. R&R!


	5. Steadfast

A/N: Oh, oh, oh, it's magic! Ya knooww! Sorry about all the misspellings and junk, know that can be really annoying sometimes, but the spellcheck hasn't been working on my computer lately. I'm uberly happy that I've gotten such a good response from my readers! Sorry it took SO LONG to update, but I've been really busy at school and such. Thanks all! Avian, if you've finally found this, I hope you're likin' it! It's your type of story!

This chapter is dedicated to Avian Dincht. It took you forever to find it! Geez! She introduced me to Roswell the books and t.v. series, and the fanfiction site, so she's basically the reason you see this fic before you. Don't forget: We are the few, the proud, the screaming insane!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Brett. It all belongs to Melinda Metz and her publishers and stuff.

Chapter 4: Steadfast

Liz pulled up to Roswell High in her dad's car, just in time to see Max walk into the building. She came up behind him, intending to surprise him. But Lucinda Baker brushed past Max, then stopped him, asking him to come with her. He smiled a little, and said something Liz couldn't hear. Lucinda turned around, a shocked look on her face. She saw Liz, gave her a disgusted look, and stalked away. Max saw Liz too, and grinned.

"What did you say to her?" Max licked his lips and admitted,

"I told her yes, but I was supposed to meet you in the janitors closet in a minute." Liz laughed and shook her head. "It could've been true!" Max protested.

"Maybe later, but if we don't hurry, we're going to be late for our first class. I'll see you later." They kissed quickly and went their opposite directions.

Max headed toward his first hour class, a intoxicated look on his face. A warning bell rang, and he snapped out of it and ran to his first class. Max, Alex, and Michael had that class together, luckily, and all sat in a row in the back. Michael was deep in thought, but Alex was talking to a couple of girls in the corner. Max dropped into the chair next to Michael and asked hm,

"So, how was your day yesterday? Hmmmmmm?" Michael grinned preoccupiedly,

"Not anything like the major make-out session I saw you having with Liz last night in your dream. More like bonding time, but it was awesome!" Max grinned, he had altered that dream just a little bit, to actually include Liz's dream. After all, what could it hurt to have a little extra time together?

Lucinda Baker's latest victim of her website, ratings of guy's "kissing technique", was sitting directly in front of them. To change the subject, Max glanced at him amusedly, chuckling softly and shaking his head. The victim turned around, smiled brilliantly, and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Brett. Was it me you were laughing at?"

Alex looked at him oddly. He thought the guy had a blank stare. Almost unnaturally alert. He shook it off, thinking that maybe Lucinda had gotten to the poor idiot.

"You new?" Brett nodded.

"My parents homeschooled me for a long time. We came here for the graduation semester. You know, smaller town, better education. Yeah, no one told me about Lucinda, so I got taken in. Sad, huh?" All three guys nodded their heads in unison, stifling an urge to smile wickedly. "So, do I get to find out your names?" Michael smirked and retorted,

"Of course not! Nobody knows our names here except us and our teachers." He shook his head and said, "My name is Michael Guerin, and these," he gestured toward Alex and Max indifferently, "are my cronies from the Science Club and the Website Updaters. Max Evans and Alex Manes." Max rubbed his forehead and said,

"Hi. No, we're not his cronies, but we'll show you around. Let me see your schedule." He looked over it briefly. "I'm going to have Bio with you, Michael has Painting with you, Alex is going to have his study hall at the same time you do. Ummm, Isabel, my sister, has Calculus when you do. You'll know her as soon as you see her. She has blonde wavy hair, is on the cheerleading squad, and I've heard her as qualified for Hottest Girl by quite a few guys. Maria and Michael have their Sociology with you. Oh, and you have the same free period as Liz." Brett looked up questioningly. "We have Biology next, I'll introduce you to Liz. Maria is Michael's girlfriend. We're all best friends, and they'd show you around too. But, we'd better start paying attention."

All the rest of the hour, Alex dozed on and off. He knew Max was too kind-hearted to not let him copy the notes. At one point when he wasn't asleep, he caught Brett staring at him, then looking away quickly.

_Weird dude._ He was too tired too think anything of it at the moment.

Max led Brett to Biology class, his favorite time of the day. He looked at Liz happily as she smiled at him. He strolled over casually and said,

"Hey Liz. This is Brett, a newish guy. Brett, this is Liz." He put an arm around her, just in case Brett hadn't caught the signals yet. His aura was completely clean, an almost black purple. Brett smiled a little forcibly.

Liz looked at him hard, but smiled genuinely. She could usually trust people Max liked. At that moment the teacher walked in, so Liz and Max went to their lab table. Brett went to a table a few rows behind them. After they were given their instructions for the experiment, Liz went to work on one part, while Max went to work on the other. Every once in a while, Max came over and put his chin on Liz's shoulder as she worked. She laughed, and nuzzled him off. Suddenly she caught a whiff of formaldehyde. She looked over at Max and smiled when she saw that he had taken some out and put it on the counter. He grinned back. Liz gave him a quick kiss and went back to work. He put a note on her book that said-

_Janitors closet- my free period?_ She smirked and nodded at him sexily. She ran her hand down her thigh, and Max licked his lips and smiled darkly.

Max looked back at Brett quickly, to see if he needed any help. Brett was almost finished, just waiting for the chemicals to settle. He was spacing out, but not in the normal way. He was standing straight up, his gaze fixed on Liz. His eyes were full of hatred, yet hazy, and his aura was streaked with it. Max drew back in surprise, then shook it off. He waved his hand in front of Brett's eyes.

"You okay, man?" Immediately, the streaks vanished.Brett looked up at Max with the same look in his eye, but it quickly vanished.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You were spacing out, standing up!" Max went back over to Liz. They were done with their experiment too, just writing up their own lab reports. Just as they finished, the bell rang. Max and Liz went their separate ways, and Max showed Brett the room for his next hour.

Liz thought about the new guy, and he way he had looked at her. She had noticed how mad he looked as he stared. Then she shook her head, and focused on the lecture.

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Isabel smiled as she watched Michael and Maria walk across the quad together. They were so cute together! Michael with his black spiky hair totally offset Maria's curls. Her blue eyes blended well with his gray, made his seem brighter. And they were always so happy together... Isabel stopped herself. She had to quit analyzing everyone else's relationships. She spotted Alex talking to a group of cheerleaders. She smiled cynically at him when he glanced her way, and he came over.

Alex grinned ecstatically,

"New list! Most giggly girls at Roswell High! I can see it now: Headlines scream to the people; Website Sends Town Into an Uproar! Girls Are Seen More Serious Than Ever Before!" He sat down and frowned. "Nah, that wouldn't work. It'd be pretty stupid. More like: Most Disgusting Puke-Colored Foods. Number One: Guacamole. So mushy it's almost pushy. Blech!" Isabel laughed, Alex was such an idiot. Maria and Michael finally reached their table, and started wolfing down their food. Liz, Max, and a guy Isabel had never seen before sat down right after. She looked at Alex, a question forming in her mind.

Alex saw it coming.

"Maria, Isabel, I'd like to have the immense pleasure of introducing you to Brett. He's a new guy, and we said we'd show him around. Isabel, he's going to have Calculus with you." Isabel smiled at Brett, he gave a half-hearted smile back, then started on his food with a little extra hard jabs. She grimaced at Alex, then started pouring Sweet n' Low on her chicken patty. Brett bit into his and wrinkled his nose in disgust. He saw what Isabel did, and did the same. He bit into it again and raised his eyebrows in surprised pleasure.

Max curiously watched Brett, the only people he had seen that liked that was aliens. But Brett couldn't be an alien, right?

"So, Brett, where do you come from, originally?" Brett paused, mid-chew. He swallowed.

"Um, I told you my parents home-schooled me for a while. I lived in Colorado for most of my life. So this year, probably about a couple weeks ago, I moved in. Actually, I'm staying in a motel at the moment. But, since Roswell is a smaller town, they get better education, and are about at the same point I'm at. But after we graduate, I'm leaving again to be with my parents in Colorado."

"Huh. A couple weeks ago." That had been about when they shattered the consciousness. Liz interrupted,

"Michael! Maria! You guys are going to give yourselves heart attacks! Why are you wolfing your food down so fast?" Maria and Michael looked at each other and burst out laughing. Michael sprayed pieces of his pizza, while Maria had her low-carb spaghetti hanging out the sides of her mouth. Once they stopped, Michael explained,

"Janitor's closet," and continued wolfing food down. Maria blushed and slowed down just a little bit.

"I see," Liz had to stifle a giggle. "Just be out of there before last hour."

"Oooh, so you and Max can get in there? Hmmmmmmmm... Well, what if we say you can go to the grimy one? Huh? Huh? Huuuuhh?" Maria started laughing again. "Fine. We'll cut it short."

Alex gave her a look that plainly said, "Be good." She glared at him.

"I hate to break up this lovely banter, but I'm done, so I'm going to go and take a look around. So I'll see you guys later!" Brett stood up and made his way out of the quad.

"Weird guy. He didn't seem to like us very much," Liz commented.

"He was fine to me," Max said.

"See you guys!" Maria and Michael got up and left.

Maria grabbed Michael's hand and pulled him to the hallway where the janitor's closet was, laughing. Michael opened the door and pulled her inside. Once inside, he pulled her to him, brushing his lips to hers. Maria pushed her hands through his hair, closing any distance between them at the same time. Michael skimmed his hand down Maria's forearm to her waist, further down to her leg. He pulled it up and around his waist, so Maria's leg was twisted around him. Maria ran her hand up to Michael's shirt, then slipped her fingers slightly underneath it, teasing him a little. Michael hoisted her up, maneuvering her other leg around a broom. She wrapped her leg around his waist, and held herself there tightly. Michael leaned back on the wall, his hands on the small of her back, and Maria pressed her hands against the wall as she pressed her lips to Michael's again. Michael kissed her neck, and she groaned with pleasure. Just then, the bell rang for lunch to be over. Michael set Maria down, they kissed one last time, and left the closet.

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Isabel watched Brett carefully as he made his way to the seat next to her. He seemed annoyed with everyone in his way. One guy wouldn't get out of the chair next to her, and the guy practically jumped backwards when Brett stared at him. Isabel thought she felt a dust amount of power being used, but she guessed it was just Michael heating up the room he and Maria were making out in. He did that a lot lately. She shuddered to think of what they did together. She thought of Trevor, hoping he'd come back soon. Brett glared at the guy and sat down.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," Brett mumbled back. He glanced at her, and suddenly his blank aura filled with hatred and anger. She blinked, and it was gone.

_Weird._ Brett's aura was a dark purple. It was completely clean of any emotion.

_Must be a dull day for him. _The bell rang for class to start, and she turned forward.

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Max grazed his lips briefly against Liz's shoulder. He was glad she had worn an off-the-shoulder shirt that day. He looked as though he was doing a push-up against the wall over her. She was pressing her hands to his back, and he silently entwined his fingers into her hair. Max held her close, his arm in the curve of her waist. He was gentle, waiting for her. She buried her head on his neck, quiet for a moment. Then she began to make her way up his neck, softly. When Liz reached his ear, she whispered,

"Sorry, still trying to get over how close I can actually get to you now." Max sighed, they had to have a good talk over what had happened over the past few weeks. This was the perfect time to do it. He sat down on the table the janitor used for repairing things. He lifted Liz so she was half-sitting on him. He wrapped his arm around her, and started,

"Liz, it's all going to be okay now. Adam died a hero's death. Helping to fight DuPris. And we've already said that it doesn't matter what happened while I was consumed by the conciousness. You kissed Adam. You were lonely. He was there for you, I wasn't. That's okay with me. The conciousness is gone, forever. There's nothing in the way of me and you being together except homework and potentially college." Liz smiled at him.

"We have exactly one month before graduation in May. What are we going to do after that? I'm going to college, but I don't know where, and so are you! If we get into the same college, great! But what about if we don't? Other guys are going to come across my way, and girls who are going to want you. How are we going to stand fast in a river of people pushing us the other way?" Max shrugged and sighed. She was right. He couldn't deny it. They were both really good-looking people. But... He stopped himself.

"How long have we been together, Liz?"

"Almost the entire school-year. Off and on a little bit." He grinned at his stupidity of before, saying they couldn't be together because of her being in danger because of what he was, when in reality she was in just as much danger being his friend. He knew they belonged together.

"Everything's going to be fine. I promise. I'd never forget you." An idea started to formulate in his mind. Knowing the way of ideas, he didn't look at it, or it would pop and vanish, like a bubble. Max kissed Liz's neck gently. He hated to think of her forgetting him for a few years, going out with some other average guy. As if knowing what he was thinking, Liz kissed Max's forehead and said,

"Don't worry, I'd never forget you, and I could never go out with another guy, knowing you're still out there. We're a binary pair, remember? You can't forget about someone sharing the same light as you."

Max smiled and kissed Liz again. Then the bell rang for the day to be over.

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I got carried away with the direction and focus of this chapter. The next chapter will show a huge change-up, and perhaps an answer to the ever-furious Brett. It's gonna be good!


	6. Possessed

A/N: Hmmm... Interesting plot going on here. Well, at least I think so. I've been really bad at updating, but my other story just ended, so you can count on me updating this a bit faster. What's going on in Max's head? Why is Brett so mean to a well-meaning gang? Here we go!

This chapter is dedicated to

Chapter 5: Possession

Liz watched Brett walk cautiously toward her at the end of the day. It was her free period/ study hall. Brett had been pretty fiery as usual. He was amiable to everyone except the "Pod Squad," who were the only ones who really paid him any attention.

_Geez, we were only trying to help. _Brett sat down next to her and glared fiercely. Suddenly he smiled. She smiled tentatively back. But it immediately turned to a frown. She wanted this to stop. He had no right whatsoever to be so offensive to them. Why did he stick around them if he didn't like them? She burst out,

"Brett, what did I ever do to you? Or Isabel, or Maria, or Michael, Alex, or Max? Because you haven't exactly shown any gratitude to us for showing you around and being nothing but nice to you. It's not like we can't see those glares you give us." Brett's eyes widened briefly, then narrowed. He mumbled something inaudible. Liz leaned closer so she could hear him. He snapped his head up and said,

"Come with me," as if it was something important. Liz followed him out of the classroom, into the hallway, and towards-

"Hoo boy, no way," Liz mumbled when she saw where they were headed. The janitors closet. She abruptly turned on her heel and began to walk the other way. She felt a vice-like grip on her wrist. She spun around, it was Brett. His eyes were narrowed so much that you could barely see the whites of his eyes.

"Let go of me!" Liz wrenched away from him as hard as she could. He held tight. Now Brett's eyes were open, and they were glowing red. "Oh my gawd! What the- Max! Max!" She screamed as loud as she could, and felt Brett's hand slap over her mouth, she tried to bite him, but her lips couldn't open. Brett dragged her to the janitor's closet and locked the door. He put his hand over it, and when he pulled it back, Liz could see that the handle was melted. Liz's eyes widened in fear and surprise. Brett turned to her, she could see in the dim light that his pupils were slits, cat-like and still glowing red. He whispered dangerously,

"Why? Because you destroyed me." He pulled back and Liz panicked when she saw his hand swirling with power waiting to be unleashed. "Now you pay for what happened to a myriad of beings!" Brett laid his hand on her, and she felt dizzy, then overcome with an overwhelming sense of evil enveloping her.

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Max looked up from his work, he thought he had heard someone calling out his name. But then it was gone. He continued working on homework, then felt a small amount of power being used. A moment later he felt an enormous surge used. Close by. He glanced over at Michael.

Michael was alert, tense, and the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He returned Max's gaze and shook his head. He frowned slightly. Isabel was smart enough not to use power at school. But then... He shook his head again. That was not Isabel's signature feel of power. It was something else. That thing that they had felt earlier. He stood and walked to the teacher's desk.

"Can I have a bathroom pass?" The teacher frowned and nodded. Max took the pass and walked out quickly, glancing at Michael and jerking his head up. Once out of the classroom, he nearly ran in the direction of the surge. He saw Brett walking down a hallway, looking very confused, so went to see what was up. "Hey Brett, what's up?" The guy looked at Max with a befuddled smile.

"Ummmm, how do you know my name? And, uh, where am I?" Max was now as perplexed as Brett looked. He checked his aura and discovered something that bewildered him even more. Brett's aura was a sky blue. Before it had been an almost black purple.

"What do you mean? We met a few days ago? Any of that ring a bell?" Brett just looked more flustered than before.

"Sorry, I've never seen you before in my life. Where am I?" Max decided that Brett wasn't playing and took pity on him.

"You're in Roswell High, New Mexico. What's the last thing you remember?"

"The last thing I remember is... um, I was in the Carlsbad Caverns, got lost from the tour group, and then all I could see was a really dark purple thing that came up to me. That's all I remember." Max shook his head.

"Well, you better go home back to your parents, you still have the rest of the semester. The door is that way." He pointed the dazed senior towards the exit, then ran off to find the source of the power surge. Max ran into Liz marching back to her class. The very first thing he noticed was her aura. It was the same midnight purple Brett's had previously been.

"Liz, your aura!" She looked at him sharply.

"What about it?"

"It's dark purple! Are you all right?" It was the same color of a grief-web, he realized. Was it possible that she was in so much distress that her aura was completely covered in the web?

"I'm fine," she snapped. Max drew back in shock. Liz never talked to him like that. Something was wrong. He spoke softly,

"Hey, are you really okay? You can trust me, remember?" He put his arms around her and looked into her eyes. She stiffened, then relaxed and hugged him back.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Max. Why did my aura change colors though?" Max didn't answer. He was icy cold. Liz's aura didn't feel right brushing up against his. It felt tainted. He quickly let go of her. Her aura filled with the same hatred that he had seen in Brett's aura every so often. Then it was gone as fast as it had come. He said,

"I don't know. Maybe that happens to some people. I haven't been around long enough to know." He was disturbed and a little freaked out. He turned on his heel and went back to his class, forgetting about the power surge completely, leaving Liz in the middle of the hallway.

When Max entered back into the room, Michael looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. Max looked disconcerted and frazzled. Michael passed his notebook to him with a note on it that said- _What happened?_ Max shook his head and wrote- _I'll tell you later._ Michael returned to his homework, frustrated. Something big had obviously occurred, and he hated not knowing what it was.

Max finished his homework and then continued thinking about Liz's aura. Why would it have turned that color? It was usually her warm amber brown. Why had it felt like that when he had brushed against it? And why in the world did her aura fill with those red streaks of hate? What the heck was going on? Each question filled his mind and lingered for a few minutes, then he went on to the next predicament, in a huge wheel.

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Maria noticed Liz's unusual state of sullenness after school right away.

"Liz, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing." Maria wasn't fooled for a second, something was wrong, best friends could tell that much always.

"Come on, something's wrong. I can tell, you can't hide that from your best friend." Liz's eyes looked at her disdainfully and said brusquely,

"Nothing's wrong, now will you stop interrogating me?"

"All right, all right already. Don't have a cow. Sheesh!" Maria felt extremely put out.

"Listen, I'm going to go to Max's house to study. So I'll see you around!" Liz said this cheerfully, like she hadn't just brushed off her best friend.

Max appeared at the door and waved to Liz, uneasily. He was really worried about her still. They hopped into the Jeep and sped off to his house. Neither of them said anything, so Max turned the radio on. It happened to be Liz's favorite song, but she showed no sign of recognition.

"What should we study today?" he asked lamely. What had happened to her? Liz said with sickly sweetness,

"Oh don't know, sweetheart. How about more chemistry junk?" Sweetheart. When in the world had she ever called him that? Chemistry and junk didn't belong in the same sentence with Liz. And who said sweetheart anyway? Something was most definitely wrong with the girl sitting beside him. Max pulled up into the driveway with these thoughts swirling around in his head. He pulled the keys out of the ignition sharply. His steps were quick as he stepped into the house. Now, not only was he extremely confused, he was mad.

"Liz," he snapped as she walked in, "what the heck is going on?" If something was wrong, why wasn't she telling him? They had always been there for each other and now, what, she was pulling out? Liz looked at him with a pout. A _pout_.

"Why are you mad, Max? Nothing's wrong? I would've told you if something was."

"Don't give me that B.S. You've been acting weird ever since I saw you in that hallway! First, your aura changes colors. Second, your attitude toward me was like I was your enemy. Snapping at me like I had said something offensive! When I hugged you, you were stiff, like you didn't even know me!

"Your aura against mine didn't feel right. It used to feel like my second aura. It felt tainted this time, oily and dark. When I let go of you, there was streaks of hate going through your aura like mad! What did I do to cause that? And before that, I found Brett, and he had no idea who I was, where he was, or how he got here. His aura was nearly black before, purple though. Now your aura is that SAME color. What's up with that? There is obviously a connection here, and I'm going to find it. Mind helping me out?" Liz stared at him blankly. She turned her back on him and waltzed up the stairs to his room without answering.

"Liz! LIZ!" He followed her in frustration and anger. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Liz hurtling at him out of the corner of his eye.

Max turned in half a split second and stopped her, catching her wrists and sticking a knee to her stomach. She howled furiously and wrenched herself away from him. The look on her face was enough to convince Max- this was not Liz. Liz's face was twisted in anger and hate. She looked like a wild animal as she scratched and clawed at him ferociously while he desperately tried to block her.

"Liz, what the- LIZ!" Now her aura was going wild. All streaks of hate, fear, grief, and anger. Finally Max pinned her down to the bed. "Liz, if you can hear me, you've got to fight this thing!" The Liz thing chuckled evilly and in a voice entirely not her own. He could see red in her eyes.

"Liz isn't coming back unless I release her. I'm older than you can imagine and the power I possess is far greater than yours. Thank you ever so much for barring me. Now I can take hold of YOU!" Before Max could pull away, the connection was made and his mind passed into darkness.


	7. Complete

A/N: So sorry for the delays! Schools out now, and most of my vacations are over, so hopefully I'll be able to write more, faster. Thanks! **Warning**: Mild lemon content.

Disclaimer: I really wish I owned these guys, but I just don't. Don't sue.

Chapter 6: Complete

Maria turned her face toward Michael in the car. A smirk played in his gray eyes, and she didn't often see that. They were headed in the normal direction towards his house, but there was something different about his atmosphere. The "vibrations" of his feelings. Usually he was just casual and talking, but today he had a determination about him. Maria didn't know if she wanted to tell him about her episode with Liz or not.

"Have you noticed anything weird about Liz today?" she asked. Michael raised an eyebrow, still staring at the road, and shook his head.

"Why?"

"Well, I don't know, it just seemed like today she was really edgy after school. Do you know what I mean? She snapped at me and was just kind of a jerk."

"Ask Max. He would probably know first if something happened, he usually drives her home. But you know what? Today I felt this huge power use somewhere close. Freaked the heck out of me. Max went to find out what it was, but I haven't talked to him yet."

"Did you call him?"

"I can wait."

"Well, I want to know, so I'll call him quick."

"All righty." Maria smiled and pulled out the phone. She pushed her curls out of the way and dialed up Max's cell.

Michael saw out of the corner of his eye Maria's face growing impatient. She snapped the cell phone shut and frowned.

"What?"

"Well, he didn't answer."

"What's so bad about that?"

"He didn't turn on his voicemail, so it just kept on ringing and ringing. When you don't expect to answer your phone, you turn on the voicemail. But he didn't turn it on, and he didn't answer."

"And this is something to worry about?"

"No..."

"It's all right, the guy probably has his hands... occupied." Michael reached over and put an arm over Maria's shoulders. He felt her relax.

"Aaaaah, I see. Of course." They pulled up in front of the UFO center and jumped out of the car quickly. Michael eyed the door pensively. He opened the door and walked in, not bothering to open it for Maria this time. He marched straight to the kitchen and motioned for Maria to follow. He picked up the phone and punched Maria's home number.

"Kevin? Hey little dude, it's Michael... Yeah, I'm doing great. Is your mom home? ... All right, can you just tell her that Maria will be home late tonight? ... Thanks Kev. Bye!" He hung up and smiled at Maria. She raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

"Why will I be home late tonight?"

"I, yes, I the great Michael, am going to grace you with an evening of delight and service, fantastic food and luxury." Maria grinned. "In other words, I'm going to make you dinner and we're going to hang out here the rest of the night."

"I don't know about you, but I think in other words that means you're my slave for the night." Maria reached up and kissed him gently. "You're just a big marshmallow under that tough exterior, aren't you?"

"Marshmallow isn't the word I was thinking of. More like coconut. I have a hard exterior, but if you are persistent enough to get to the center, you are awesomely rewarded."

"So that makes me the..."

"Cavewoman who was hungry enough to try to crack me. Yeah!" Maria giggled.

"So, do you like chicken alfredo?" Michael was getting started on pulling out ingredients.

"As long as it's free-range chicken."

"Sorry, I didn't check. We'll just assume it is." Michael took five hours to cook the meal, even though he often made this for himself. It kept him busy on long, boring days. Finally, when the couple sat down to eat at a candlelit table, it was nearly dark.

"Michael, this is really good!" Maria hadn't suspected Michael of being a chef as well as a short-order cook.

"Why thank you." Michael said through a mouthful of noodles. They finished up and went upstairs to Michael's bedroom.

Maria flopped down on the bed and Michael followed. Maria kissed him.

"Thank you, Michael. You're so sweet." Michael took her face in his hands and made a connection.

_Maria watching Michael cook._

_Maria and Michael sleeping in Michael's bed._

_Maria and Michael making out in the janitors closet._

_Maria smiling._

Then he was in. He found the memory he had embedded into her mind and brought it forward, fresh. Michael broke the connection and whispered passionately,

"I love you, Maria." Michael kissed Maria's neck and pulled her on top of him. She wrapped a leg around him and kissed his lips. Michael threw out a hand to the wall and the lights turned off. Then he focused on the girl on him. She ran her hands through his hair, up and down his back, sending warm tingles up his spine. Maria slid her fingers beneath Michael's shirt, up to his hard stomach muscles and chest. She tortured him for a moment, massaging his chest with one hand. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she slipped the other hand under, and pulled his shirt off. Maria skimmed her lips over Michael's chest.

He traced the hollow at the base of her neck with his tongue, following her collarbone out to her shoulders. Michael moaned when he felt her take off his shirt. He let her lips run wild over him, then rolled over so he was on top of Maria. He kissed her throat, trailing straight down. When he reached the material of her shirt, he continued anyway, letting her know what he wanted. Now it was Maria's turn to moan. With his mouth, he pushed up her shirt just enough so he could lay a burning kiss just above her waist. Maria took his hands and put them on her hips, slowly pulling them underneath her top. He needed no further prompting. Michael tormented Maria the way she had tormented him, smoothly caressing her skin, traveling upward excruciatingly slowly. As he reached her bra, he moved his palm to the center of her chest, continuing to move his fingertips straight upward.

Maria wanted to scream, wanted to be skin to skin with him, now. Michael knew exactly what he was doing to her. Her mouth was on Michael's, but her mind was on his hand. When he reached the top of her shirt, his hand went across each collarbone and shoulder. Maria felt relief when Michael finally took her top off. He gently lowered himself so his chest brushed against her breast. His chest was heaving, Maria could feel his heart racing.

Michael gasped quietly when Maria made a plunge downward. She moved beneath his body, making sure her lips brushed every piece of skin she could get to on her way down.

She unbuckled his belt swiftly and practically ripped off his pants. Maria threw them down to the floor. She took hold of Michael's legs and twisted them around so she was on top one more time. Maria crawled over Michael's body, and while she came to his mouth again, Michael worked to unbutton her jeans. He was successful, and hooked his fingers through the belt loops. It was his turn to descend and tempt. Michael took his time, letting fiery kisses linger upon her legs. He climbed upward doing the same, not stopping when he came to material.

Michael could feel the heat radiating from every part of Maria's body, her thighs, hips, stomach, chest, neck, lips. He pulled his own leg up so he was on one knee, the other leg crossing over Maria. Michael pulled himself onto his elbows, those straddling Maria as well. His mouth found hers, again and again, each kiss with more passion than the last. Each skin contact point only increased the heat. Michael wasn't even heating the room and it was hot. Maria wrapped her arms around Michael, pulling him closer and closer still. Michael slipped an arm beneath Maria, pulling her closer. His fingertips found the clasp of Maria's bra. He didn't bother with undoing it, he simply severed it. With both hands occupied, he pulled it off with his teeth. Michael descended again, off to one side, making Maria breath harder. Even at her stomach, Michael could feel her heart beating like a drum line. Michael passionately kissed every inch of skin that was in his line of fire. Maria whispered,

"Michael, Michael, you don't know what you're doing to me..." Michael reached her breast and continued in a trail of kisses. He came to Maria's mouth, smiled against it, and whispered back,

"I think I have a pretty good idea..." Michael tore off his boxers, coming back skin to skin with Maria. Maria stripped off the last thing that separated her from Michael. Michael pulled a blanket over them. In a outpouring of heaven, they became one more complete person. Without the other half, they hadn't been whole.


	8. Traitor's Blood

A/N: No more lemon from here on, just so you know.

Chapter 7: Traitor's Blood

Liz opened her eyes drearily. She only vaguely remembered what had happened just a few hours ago.

_Where am I?_ She recognized the room as Max's.

_What am I doing here?_ Max wasn't in the room, and she didn't remember how she had happened on his bed. She tried to remember exactly what had happened. All that came to mind was Brett, and then that overwhelming feeling of dark. Then Liz remembered losing that feeling with Max's horrified face over her. She couldn't remember... Liz fell asleep again on Max's pillow.

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Isabel stared off into the night sky, lost in thought again. The green grass that surrounded her seemed to be whispering to her in the faint breeze. The beauty of it was comfort to her. Slowly and gently, her head fell to her arms in the cool summer moonlight.

Isabel dreamt of her home planet, of peace there. She dreamt a green cloud came and swept her up into the skies and held her softly closer to the sun that lit their planet. The cloud changed into the collective consciousness that Isabel had imagined, but it was only the friendly ones. She didn't lose herself among them, they let her keep herself, and then they floated back into that place of peace where all things go after they die. And the cloud still held her, and reminded her of arms holding her to a chest. Like her dad used to do when she was little. And they squeezed her gently. A tendril of the cloud pushed a piece of her hair back.

Then Isabel awoke. She smiled at what she saw, because she knew it couldn't be real. Trevor's face was smiling down at her. She thought to herself,

_I'm still dreaming. A very good, very realistic dream._ But then she felt. The arms around her. They were the same as the clouds. Isabel opened her eyes wide. It was Trevor, holding her up against his chest, a small wormhole dwindling about twenty feet from her. Isabel laughed and screamed happily.

"Is-" Trevor began.

"Trevor!" Isabel immediately shut him up with her lips. She wouldn't pull away, and neither did he. It was sweet, beautiful. They sat in the middle of a small patch of grass, Trevor's arms around Isabel's shoulder's and one hand on her neck. Isabel's left hand was entwined in Trevor's hair, while her right was pressed onto his chest. Trevor broke their kiss first, savoringly.

"Isabel," he whispered breathily.

"Trevor, I missed you." Isabel felt like she was glowing inside.

"Isabel, I missed you too, so much, but we don't have much time. We need to get everyone together as quickly as we can. Michael, Maria, Max, Liz, Alex, everyone. Do you have your cell with you?" Isabel was a little confused, but dialed Michael's house. He picked up on her third try. She could hear him and another person, who she assumed was Maria, breathing heavily and shifting in the background when it was picked up.

"Hey, Michael, it's Iz... We all need to meet at your place ASAP. You're never going to believe what's happened... Humans need to come too. Can you get a hold of Liz and Max for me?... You're busy? Doing what? ... None of my business? Michael, everything you've done since we met has been my business... Well, please, just try his cell phone and then the house. I'll be there in a few minutes!" Isabel then called Alex, who picked up on the second ring.

"Hi Alex, it's Isabel! Listen, we all need to meet at Michael's as soon as possible. It's urgent. ... All right, I'll see you there!" Last she called Liz, just in case Michael was talking with Max too long. She tried five times. On the last ring before Isabel lost her patience, Liz picked up.

"Hello?" she said groggily.

"Liz, it's Isabel."

"Oh, hi. What's up?"

"Why didn't you pick up?"

"I was asleep. Any idea where Max is?"

"No, I thought he was with you."

"Well, he was. I'm on his bed right now, and he's no where to be found."

"You didn't..."

"No, but I don't remember exactly what happened."

"Well, we'll find him. Anyway, we need you to be at Michael's as soon as you can be."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you when you get there!"

"All right. Bye."

"See ya." Isabel looked at Trevor.

"Let's go!" he said. She ran for her mom's car. Trevor appeared in the driver's seat before she got there.

"No fair!" She lightly punched him on the chest, but didn't pull away when he grabbed her wrist. He moved her fingers to his neck and kissed her again, gently. Then he put the pedal to the floor and they sped off to the UFO center. When they arrived, Trevor hid behind the counter until everyone but Max was there.

Michael had his arms around Maria's waist, resting his head on her shoulder, he kept kissing her, and looking at her like she was the only person alive. Unusual. Nevertheless, Isabel cleared her throat.

"Even though Max isn't here, and apparently no one can get hold of him, I've gotta start. Something incredible has happened."

"You're not pregnant, are you?" Alex joked. Isabel glared at him for a moment while he squirmed and hid.

"No. I'm back," Trevor said, and came out from behind the counter. Michael jumped out from behind Maria and tackled Trevor. Then he pulled him up and enveloped him in a bear hug. Trevor laughed and hugged him back.

"But why are you back?" Michael asked after everyone else had hugged Trevor. When he had hugged Maria, he had held her by the shoulders and raised an eyebrow as though he knew something about her.

"I'm getting to that." Alex had just given him a one-arm hug. They had never really been that close. "First, Liz has something to tell everyone about her day." Everyone turned to look at Liz.

"How did you know?" she asked Trevor.

"I saw as I entered Earth."

"Today, I went to class with that new guy Brett, and I told him off for being such a jerk to us all. He told me to come with him, and I figured it might be something important, so I did. He was headed for the janitors closet. I turned around and headed back to class, but he grabbed my wrist, hard. Like pincers. I looked back at him, and his eyes were glowing red. I was so scared, I screamed, but he put his hand over my mouth and stopped me. Then Brett took his hand off my mouth, but I still couldn't scream. My lips felt like they were sewed together. He pulled me into the janitors closet, and when he took his hand off the door handle, I could see that it was melted. He whispered,

"Why? Because you destroyed me." I could see his hand swirling with power waiting to be unleashed. Then he said, "Now you pay for what happened to a myriad of beings!" And then I passed into a kind of darkness. The next thing I remember, I woke up on Max's bed. With no Max."

The room was silent. Michael was next to Maria again, holding her hand. Maria was squeezing him tightly.

"The reason I'm here is to help you guys out. A single aura from the consciousness escaped to Earth, somehow before it dissolved into the air. It's evil, to the extreme. It always was, and the myriad of beings that Brett referred to is the consciousness. It can take over auras, shift at will. It gives power to the person possessed by it. That's what happened to you Liz. And that's what happened to Brett. It can only possess by touch. There's one more thing though, Liz. Do you remember anything that happened before you fell asleep?"

Liz looked a little bewildered.

"No, I don't think so... No, wait, there was something. I remember coming out of that darkness, with Max's horrified face right above me."

"So that means that-" Alex started.

"That Max was possessed too," Trevor finished. "And that's potentially lethal to all of us." The room erupted.

"What are we going to do?"

"We have to find Max!"

"Has anyone seen Max since Liz did?"

"We should split up and search for Max."

"No way! We have to stick together and find him."

"SHUT UP!" Isabel yelled. Everyone stopped and stared at her. "First thing is first, everyone call their parents and give them an alibi. Whatever it is, tell them you're at Michael's and that if they want anything, to call you at someone's cell phone number." Michael and Alex didn't have cell phones, but Michael didn't need to call anyone anyway. Alex could tell his dad like it was, because he already knew about the aliens.

"Yeah dad, I need to stay out later tonight. Alien stuff. Okay, I'll call when I can. If you need me, just call Liz's cell. Or Maria's. Or Isabel's. See ya." Isabel looked around the room.

"Next, we are all going to go together to find Max, so we can't be overpowered by him. I'm assuming we'll have a stone with us, Trevor?" Trevor nodded.

"Wait, how do we destroy the aura without destroying Max?" Liz asked fearfully.

"We can do the same thing we did when Michael's hand was melting into Max's shoulder. Concentrate on Max's aura and then the dark purple of the other aura," Alex suggested.

"Yeah, once we get the two apart, we use the stone to destroy the aura!" Maria said.

"Why is it always Max who is in trouble with the consciousness?" Liz murmured. Maria abandoned Michael for a moment to hug Liz.

"Let's go you guys. Where do we start?" Maria said fiercely.

"Nearby. It wants to get to us, so it should be close. Or it may be looking for a stone. So we'll try in the surrounding areas first, then the cave and so on," Trevor said. "It shouldn't be difficult."

The door was flung open, and Max stepped in. In a voice entirely not his own he said,

"Aaah, the traitor has arrived. I get to have your blood too."


End file.
